Five Tries
by Miss Mysty
Summary: My response to my own challenge on LiveJournal.  Five drabbles, inspired by five songs.


**Response to my own challenge on the sekai_hatsukoi LiveJournal community, in which I told everyone to put their music player on shuffle, write down the first five songs, and write something for each. Enjoy!**

1. Instruments (Organ Smash, from the Iji OST)

Ritsu could actually play a lot of instruments; he'd taken more lessons than he could count when he was younger. He still remembered most of them: the piano, the guitar, the violin (and by extension, the fiddle, though he was loath to let anyone know about that particular ability), the trumpet and the clarinet.

He never really understood the organ, though. His mother had always told him that if he could play the piano he could play the organ, but he didn't see it that way. One time, while on his foreign exchange to Australia during high school, he'd gone to a church with a friend. During the service, an organ was played to accompany the hymns. Ritsu had been amazed at how well the organist played and afterwards, when even the pastor had left, Ritsu walked up to it and stared.

"It's not that hard," his friend had said, able to tell that Ritsu wanted to try.

Ritsu nodded, a determined look on his face. When his hands landed on the keys and produced the most sour notes he'd played since he was a child still learning how to play an instrument, Ritsu scowled at it and that was that. He never learned how to play the organ.

2. Kissing (Kiss Me, Sixpence None the Richer)

Takano had a horrible habit. Well, Ritsu reflected, Takano had several horrible habits, but one in particular was bugging him. Takano would follow him whenever he went down to the vending machines in the lounge, and when they were in that corner where no one could see them, he'd kiss him.

Ritsu had tried to stop him at first, to be sure, but after a while, he realized that the more he protested, the more likely it was that someone else in the lounge would notice what was going on.

Finally, Ritsu just stopped going down to the vending machines at all. It was, after all, cheaper to just get tea or coffee from a convenience store on his way to work, even if it did mean walking a little faster so he wouldn't be late.

Eventually, though, he kind of missed the kisses. It was the only time Takano wasn't criticizing him during work.

3. Wake Up (Calling, The World Ends With You OST)

Kisa was the first to fall asleep during their second all-nighter for the cycle. He hated having to stay that late because he knew Yukina was there at his place, maybe doing his own thing but definitely wondering when they'd actually get to see each other. He was having a horrible dream when someone finally woke him up, but as soon as he opened his eyes, he wouldn't be able to tell you what it was about. It just left an unsettling feeling in his stomach.

"Kisa, your pages came in," Takano said, and he thrust them at him before going back to his own desk. Kisa vaguely stared at them. "They were your last ones, right? Check them over and give them to me."

"Thanks, Takano-san," Kisa mumbled before doing just that.

"Oh, and Kisa."

"Yeah?"

"That tall guy is waiting outside for you again."

Kisa didn't have to ask who Takano meant. He suddenly wished he could just rush through the checks and meet Yukina so they could go home. The fact of the matter was, however, that Yukina would wait for him as long as it took.

4. Death Threats (Better Off Dead, The Faders)

Ritsu wasn't sure who needed to die a slow, painful death, but someone had to. Then again, maybe he was to blame as well; he'd forgotten his conviction that he was never going down to the vending machines again, and predictably, Takano had pushed him up against the wall and kissed him, though he got coffee for himself first. That part had put Ritsu off-guard enough for it to happen. Otherwise, he knew he would've escaped.

Now, the entire female staff of Emerald were tittering and giggling at him. Someone was definitely going to die. This someone, he discovered when he actually looked at the group, might just be Isaka. He had been down in the lounge, and he could currently be seen sneaking away towards the elevator.

Unfortunately, killing your boss is not a good career move. If it weren't for that, Takano would've been dead on day one of Ritsu's time at Marukawa.

5. Drowning (Tied Together With A Smile, Taylor Swift)

Yokozawa still remembered what Masamune was like when they were in college: drowning, barely holding his head above the water. Yokozawa had been his friend, helped him find the metaphorical shore and pull himself out.

Now, he could understand that feeling. The moment Masamune told him that Onodera was his lost love, the one that had sent him into such a horrible spiral of depression, he felt the floor drop out from underneath him. It wasn't that he had given up on being with Masamune, it was that he was afraid Masamune would try to pursue Onodera again, but this time, he wouldn't be able to keep his head above the water.

"I still love him, Yokozawa," Masamune said, staring down at the beer he had taken from the six pack. He hadn't drank any, though. He hadn't even opened it. "Is that wrong?"

Yokozawa snorted, trying to sound indifferent. "You don't love him, Masamune. You told me yourself you've moved on. Nostalgia is getting to you."

Then they went back to their beers, because even then, neither really looked convinced.


End file.
